An ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is widely used as a medical image diagnostic apparatus, relatively simple and non-invasively applicable, and various types of portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus have been developed, being available not only in a laboratory within a hospital, but also in a patients room or out of hospital. By way of example, a notebook-size device is put into practical use, having a structure that couples a display panel with an operating panel at one end in an openable and closable manner, the display panel being configured to display an image, and the like, taken by the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus, and the operating panel being configured to input instructions necessary for ultrasonic measurement.
In addition, there is also developed a cart used specifically for moving this kind of portable ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus to an examination site, together with accessories such as a probe. An examination is performed under the condition that the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is mounted on the cart. Therefore, in addition to the traveling performance in moving, the cart is required to have a function at the examination site, to arrange the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus at a position that facilitates the examination. The most fundamental function is a mechanism to move the top board up and down, on which the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus is mounted. Most of the carts currently used are provided with an up-and-down movement mechanism (e.g., Patent Document 1).
The Patent Document 2 describes a structure, which is not a cart, but the ultrasonic diagnostic apparatus itself is provided with a mechanism allowing the operating portion to be movable, up and down, back and forth, and in a rotational direction.